'Pokemon Go' release date: GDC session with Niantic cancelled

(Youtube/The Official Pokémon Channel)Screengrab of Pokemon Go title

The upcoming "Pokemon GO" has been awaited by its legions of fans for some time now, however, no release date has been officially announced by Niantic yet. While waiting for the announcement, here is a roundup of rumors that gamers could expect in the upcoming title.

According to PC Advisor UK, there were several rumors regarding "Pokemon GO's" release date which turned out to be untrue including the U.S. launch late last year.

A lot of gamers were expecting that the GDC session on March 14 could shed some light on the upcoming title since it was initially scheduled to be discussed in a panel. The announcement even stated: "Niantic's newest game, 'Pokemon GO,' ups the challenge of real world gaming design, taking a beloved franchise and setting its hundreds of brightly-colored monsters loose across the globe, adding a new Bluetooth wearable device created by Nintendo to the mix."

Niantic founder and CEO John Hanke was even named to be the main man of the discussion, unfortunately, the scheduled talk was cancelled. Even the reason behind the event's cancellation was not revealed.

The highly anticipated "Pokemon Go" is a game especially designed for mobile platforms for both Android and iOS devices. It is both developed by Pokemon and Niantic with contributions from the gaming giant Nintendo.

It is played in the real environment through augmented reality. The gameplay urges players to locate, catch, battle, and trade Pokemon in real places. These places could be the neighborhood parks, shopping areas, sidewalks, or countryside. Hanke described it as like "discovering a Squirtle hiding along the waterfront in San Francisco, a Bulbasaur at Shinjuku Station or a Pikachu beneath the Eiffel Tower."

However, the augmented reality gaming is not possible without the accompanying device called the "Pokemon GO" Plus. It is a device that can be strapped on one's wrist, just like wearing a watch.

The Plus device syncs to a gamer's smartphone via Buetooth and it will send notifications whenever there are events or Pokemons nearby.

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